Kevin Witzberger with several math class students from Haralson County High School.

Kevin Witzberger was an invited NASA speaker at Haralson County High School in Georgia, March 7-8, 2019. Over the course of two days, he spoke to several classes varying in size from 10 to 50 students, interacting with approximately 150 students in total. He gave presentations including information about NASA’s history, NASA Ames Research Center’s contributions to past missions, such as the Stardust Comet Sample Return, Kepler, Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), and on-going research in the areas of Air Traffic Management (ATM), the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management, and Urban Air Mobility. The discussions were highly interactive and ranged from 40 to 90 minutes for a total of about seven hours in presentations. The students and teachers were especially interested in drones, air taxis, autonomy, and ATM and asked lots of questions throughout. Kevin presented several Future ATM Concept Evaluation Tool (FACET) animations, and the playback of the traffic on September 11, 2001 was the most popular. (POC: Kevin Witzberger)

ATD-2 Training at Atlanta and Washington Center
March 13, 2019

Since mid-February 2019, the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) team has trained nine Traffic Management Coordinators (TMCs) from Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZDC) and three TMCs from Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZTL). The TMCs were briefed on, and guided through, interactions with ATD-2’s Ramp Traffic Console (RTC) and Surface Trajectory Based Operations (STBO) Client, and were engaged with features and data exchange between the two tools. The TMCs and ATD-2 team further discussed how ATD-2 is integrated into the Time-Based Flow Management (TBFM) system through Integrated Departure Arrival Capability (IDAC), the non-verbal interaction that is available through electronic negotiations, and how to use these systems in the Center environment. TMCs provided feedback and gained proficiency on the ATD-2 systems, and expressed enthusiasm about using the tool during severe weather. (POC: Bob Staudenmeier)

Lindsay Stevens (right) provided an overview of the ATD-2 subproject to NASA Deputy Administrator James Morhard (left) at FutureFlight Central at NASA Ames Research Center.

On Monday, February 25, 2019, NASA Deputy Administrator James Morhard visited NASA Ames Research Center. The visit included briefings and demonstrations of some of the Aviation Systems Division’s work in Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the National Airspace System (UAS/NAS) project, the UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) Traffic Management (UTM) project, and the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) project. Aviation Systems Division Chief, Sandy Lozito, provided an overview of the FutureFlight Central (FFC) facility capabilities. Lindsay Stevens provided an overview of the ATD-2 subproject and its benefits, and demonstrated the Ramp Traffic Console (RTC) using a traffic scenario at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) from the Assessment of Ramp Times 2 (ART-2) human-in-the-loop (HITL) simulation. Dr. Joey Rios provided an overview of UTM development and testing. The demonstrations were also attended by the Ames Center Director, and Aviation Systems Division and Aeronautics Directorate line and project management teams. (POC: Lindsay Stevens)

Dr. Joey Rios (left) provided an overview of the UTM subproject to NASA Deputy Administrator James Morhard (right) at FutureFlight Central at NASA Ames Research Center.

Supreet “Sue” Kaur selected for Brooke Owens Fellowship
March 4, 2019

Congratulations to Supreet (Sue) Kaur, who was selected as one of the 2019 Brooke Owens Fellows! Sue has been an intern on the Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 (ATD-2) Systems Engineering team since June 2018, and will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering, and a minor in Green Engineering, from San Jose State University (SJSU) in Spring 2019. Sue’s responsibilities on the ATD-2 team have included software release testing, participating in human-in-the-loop simulations at FutureFlight Central, and documentation. Her senior project is focused on conducting workflow assessments on the ATD-2 systems engineering processes and implementing efficiency improvements. As one of 38 honorees (or “Brookies”) of the Brooke Owens Fellowship, Sue was selected for accomplishments related to her professional aptitude, creativity, leadership ability, and commitment to serving her community. Sue demonstrated not only her dedication to her professional discipline, but her passion for mentoring and fostering diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Sue was born in India, and is the first woman in her family to obtain a college education. She has been an active mentor through the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program (of which she is an alumna), and participates in multiple external organizations serving diversity and STEM interests. Under the fellowship, Brooke will work at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) with the International Security Program. The award was named for space industry pioneer and accomplished pilot D. Brooke Owens. (POC: Andrew Ging)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has incorporated Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) as part of an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The FAA issues ANPRM for public commentary prior to implementing proposed rules related to air transportation operations. Specifically, through this ANPRM, the FAA seeks to reduce risks to public safety and national security; the public commentary process may have significant impact to the eventual FAA rules that govern UTM operations. NASA's UTM concept is referenced in ANPRM Section IV.C. and reflects the increasingly central role that UTM will play in the nation's small UAS operations. The ANPRM references the UTM implementation plan, and the FAA requests public input about how UTM should be utilized. The public commentary period ends on April 15, 2019. (POC: Parimal Kopardekar)

Fixing The Most Inefficient Phase Of Flight: Ground Operations
March 1, 2017
John Croft from Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine reports on how the Integrated Arrival, Departure and Surface (IADS) traffic management system will help to improve terminal operations.+ Read the article

360-Degree Airport Simulator Tests the Future of Air Traffic Control
December 14, 2016
FutureFlight Central and ATD-2 are featured on NASA.gov.+ Read the NASA article

Sherlock Detects Traffic in Near-Real Time
August 18, 2016
Matt Leonard of GCN.com reports on how Sherlock combines data from different FAA facilities into one nationwide, near-real-time file on air traffic data to enable large-scale analyses of the U.S. air traffic system.+ Read the article

NASA Pulls Together National Data to Sleuth Out Air Traffic Improvement Mysteries
August 11, 2016NASA's newly improved tool, the Sherlock Air Traffic Management (ATM) Data Warehouse, merges all of the air traffic facility data to produce analysis-ready, end-to-end flight information at these improved resolutions for the entire U.S. airspace.+ Read the NASA article

Transportation Department, NASA, Partners Visit Charlotte to Open Test Lab to Streamline Air Travel
June 24, 2016
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today were joined by representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), American Airlines, and the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to celebrate the official opening of a new airspace technology demonstration (ATD-2) laboratory.+ Read the Press Release

FAA Breaks Ground for New Air Traffic Control Tower at Charlotte Douglas International Airport
June 2, 2016
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Deputy Administrator Michael G. Whitaker broke ground today for a new 370-foot-tall air traffic control tower and radar approach control at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).+ Read the press release